Selling Timeshare: It's Already Sold? Not Likely

A new type of timeshare company seems to have grown out of the current recession, one no doubt both inspired by, and fueled by, economic desperation: the
"It's Already Sold"
cold-calling scheme.
Sadly, these operations often disguise themselves as actual timeshare resale companies; sullying the entire industry's reputation. If you have yet to encounter these ruffians, let me summarize the essence of the con:

I'm calling about your xyz timeshare because we're working with a family that's interested in buying it. They're willing to pay [insert inflated sale price here] and they're ready to close immediately. All we need is for you to pay the closings costs/title insurance expenses that come to $1,999+. We can take care of that today via check/credit card, and get things wrapped up in about a month.

Despite the many logical flaws in this pitch, thousands of timeshare owners seem to be falling for it. Of course, the sale never materializes, and the company soon vanishes, along with the money. Most significantly perhaps, is that yet another timeshare owner
becomes convinced that timeshare resale is a scam
- something they often broadcast at full volume in chat rooms, and elsewhere, making it that much harder for legitimate timeshare resale companies to sell timeshare.

Generally, I try to keep this blog positive, but it's clear that if timeshare owners continue to fall for these schemes, the "Nanny State" will intervene to protect them, and regulate the industry into oblivion (
see previous post on regulation.) That said, let me explain 2 reasons why "It's Already Sold" can
never,
ever, be true:

1. The Closing Process
- With few exceptions, the buyer pays the closing costs of a timeshare transaction, and the buyer would decide whether or not to purchase title insurance, and if so would pay for it. In the event a seller has agreed to pay closing costs, these would be
deducted from escrow
at time of closing. Any exceptions with regard to handling of funds would violate basic real estate laws throughout the U.S.

2. Your Ownership Details Are Not Public Information
- Even if you have a deeded timeshare, the information on that deed does not reflect the
full details of your ownership. For instance, a deed may have a unit number, but not the size of the unit, or vice versa. Additionally, owners often upgrade, and available public records are often outdated. The only way for anyone to know for sure exactly what you own would be to confirm that information with the resort - 
your resort will not be confirming that information with outside parties
! So, if it's not possible for a buyer to know exactly what you own, how could they know they want to buy it?
Well-intentioned
timeshare resale companies are in business to assist you in finding a buyer.
It's a process:
sales rarely happen overnight. When you connect with a buyer for your timeshare, they are sure to have questions for you. Once there's a "meeting of the minds" you can move forward with closing - using a title company, in a safe and orderly transaction. Rest assured, you can sell your timeshare, people
sell timeshares every day, but it won't be at a hyper-inflated price, and
it won't happen overnight
. In closing, remember the best response to "It's Already Sold" is hanging up your phone.